CO129-595-9 The British Military Administration of Hong Kong- report- 1946 11-7-1946 - 2-9-1946 — Page 143

EARLY

C.C.4.0.,

The Imports & Exports Department operates as

&

183

(a) A Customs & Excise Revenue Collection Department, (b) A Department exercising a modified form of Trade

Control to suit conditions which are normal in

Hong Kong but abnormal in most British Empire ports, (c) The collection of Trade Statistics,

(d) The control of Dangerous Drugs.

The four subdepartments enumerated above have been brought

into operation since the Japanese surrender.

(a) Revenue.

The collection of Duties on Liquor and

Tobacco under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance commenced on October 29th and the total revenue collected to date (November 25th) is

Liquor....

Tobacco

D

•

.8131,4-9.50

56,472.35

These figures are low when compared with an average month in 1941 but in view of the conditions under which trade is being carried on they must be regarded as satisfactory. Local distilleries as an example have to pay greatly increased prices for Rice, Molasses and Coal. In some cases the stills themselves have been sold as scrap metal and new stills have to be made at prices many times those ruling in 1941. An early difficulty experienced in connection with Liquor Taxation was the large number of distilleries licensed by the Japanese Author- ities which produced Chinese Spirit on a small scale. These distill- eries used small native type pot stills over which it is impossible to exercise any form of control. Their raw materials are rice, sugar and native yeast and their obly fuel is wood. Their output per distillery is from 4 to 20 gallons per day and, as the duty on a gallon of Chinese Spirit (47 degrees under proof) is 2.00, any form of control visiting is an expensive method of revenue collection, whereas few large dis- tilleries on ites adjoining a motor road can be effectively controlled at a reasonable cost. The Tobacco Revenue is being paid almost entire- ly on Raw Tobacco used in the British Cigarette Factory which is operating under Government Control for the production of Cigarettes suitable for the cheap native trade. The sales are about two million cigarettes per day and are increasing. A certain amount of Raw Tobacco is being used in Chinese Prepared (Smoking) Tobacco factories. During the three months under review. there have been no imports of

(a) European Type Liquor (Whisky, Brandy, Gin, etc.) (b) Luxury types of foreign manufactured Smoking Tobacco

and Cigarettes.

* (c) Raw Tobacco other than very small quantities of

China grown Tobacco.

A supply of at least two million pounds of Raw Tobacco is urgently required for the manufacture of Cigarettes. Some of this may be obtained eventually from China but a large percentage will be required